


Be My Husband

by mistyknight



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Gen, Honeymoon, Intergalactic Roadtrips, Kidnapping, Las Vegas Wedding, but it doesn't stick, very light on romance because they're not that kind of couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-13 13:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14113344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistyknight/pseuds/mistyknight
Summary: Platonic soulmates Nyota Uhura and Hikaru Sulu get drunkenly married in Vegas. This is their story.





	Be My Husband

**Author's Note:**

> I first started writing this story before STB premiered and I know it’s been years but this (and a few others) have stuck around in my head waiting to be finished and polished.
> 
> this is a blend of the AOS and TOS, with tastes of TOS!Uhura and AOS!Sulu, and could theoretically take place in either universe. Please picture Chekov’s and Scotty’s accents as you will, because I definitely cannot type them out phonetically.

Uhura woke reluctantly to the desperate sound of a chronometer going off. With a murmured command, the device shuts itself down and Uhura snuggles back into the warmth of her bed for the 10 minutes she allows before getting up to prepare for her shift.

When she stretches, she spies Chekov using her calf as a pillow, her own head pillowed on Sulu’s stomach. It’s a little ridiculous and probably uncomfortable for everyone except her but well, they're all  young and this isn’t the first time they’ve all ended up passed out somewhere.

There was something about the last day of shore leave on Earth that made everyone a little loopy.

With a small smile on her lips, Uhura gets dressed quietly and sets an alarm to go off 10 minutes before the boys absolutely had to be on the bridge.

Tellarite throat singing music would be the perfect soundtrack to start their day.

  
\---

  
“Uhura!” She eyes the captain suspiciously at his exclamation. He looks much too giddy for her tastes, this early on their first day back.

“Yes, Captain?” She asks, a single eyebrow arched in question.

“Lieutenant, no need for the Deafcon 1 eyebrow. I just wanted to express my sincerest congratulations and my most profound hurt that we were not invited to your nuptials.”

“I-” she starts, because she has absolutely no clue what he’s going on about.

“However,” he presses when she is no longer forthcoming, “I understand young love, and well, l’m just grateful Chekov was there to comm us in.”

She makes sure to keep her facial expression pleasantly neutral. There are too many unknown variables at play and she doesn't want to tip her hand.

“So! In celebration of two of my favorite senior officers, I would like to offer the two of you an extended shore leave for your honeymoon.”

  
“Captain,” she breathes. “That's too kind!” Already she is weighing the merits of not letting him know that she doesn’t actually remember marrying Sulu, even if there is probably proof of it somewhere.

“Nonsense! You two are the most deserving people I know. Besides,” Kirk says with a charming smile and a twinkle in his eye, “there's no way you're honeymoon will be any more of a disaster than ours.”

It's sort of a running gag with them, the references to the Captains honeymoon. It’s not that  it was any type of catastrophe. The Captain, First Officer and CMO had a perfectly legitimate honeymoon surveying the craters of Mars with the minimum of injuries and misadventures.

The only concern really was who exactly was in control while the captain and First Officer were away.

Acting Captain Scott performed more illegal upgrades during those 32 days than he had in the past 2 years onboard the Enterprise.

“I’m sure it won’t be,” she responds with a similar twinkle in her eye.

Kirk claps her on the shoulder gently. “Glad you agree! I just wish we could offer you your choice of the destination.”

“Trust me, sir," she demurs. "This is more than enough.”

Chekov and Sulu take this time to enter the bridge, standing close enough to be leaning on each other.

“If you’ll excuse me, sir,” she requests and rises from her seat, brushing off imaginary dust.

He beams at her and motions her along.

Uhura walks forward determinedly, grabbing Sulu and Chekov by the backs of their shirts and leading them back away from the bridge.

She tries very hard to not discern where the wolf whistle comes from.

The great affair that was the Kirk Spock McCoy wedding was Something to Behold. The flair of a Southern gentlemen, the elegance of a stoic Vulcan, and the sheer presence of one Jim Tiberius Kirk was no laughing matter. There was only one small intergalactic fiasco involving the pet tribble of the Andorian diplomats son.

To be fair, no one expected the phaser hidden in the Captains dress shoe. 

If their wedding was anything close to that, she will be sad to have missed it.

As soon as she gets them far enough away from the bridge that she’s comfortable no one will intentionally eavesdrop, she pins them to the wall with A Stare.

“Anyone know anything about Sulu and I getting married that they would like to share?” She's about seconds away from tapping her foot in frustration, but she wants to know what to be mad about first.

“Wait, who got married now?” Sulu asks a little breathily. He looks just about as wrecked as she does, which is to say not at all, because they are Professionals. If you can forgive the unfocused look in his eyes and semi-irregular part to his hair, he looks as put together as ever.

“You,” she points at Sulu, “and I," she says as she points to herself.

He’s still looking between the two of them like he can’t quite comprehend what’s happening. Chekov, bless him, sees this and takes mercy on the poor helmsman.

“Hikaru, I cannot believe you do not remember your wedding to the lovely Mrs. Uhura just this past evening!” he quietly exclaims, moderating his voice to softer tones.

Sulu nods thoughtfully. “There are worse things than marrying your best friend,” he says with a easy smile to Uhura.

The easy grace with which he accepts this takes all of the fight out of her.

He's right, after all.

There are worse things than drunkenly marrying your best friend.

Chekov’s recounting of their wedding involves more Mother Russia than Uhura ever expected to hear in regards to her wedding, but it is a tale befitting senior officers aboard the Enterprise. Anecdotes about flower crowns crafted in the secret language of Victorian flower language by Sulu are followed by the story of a tug of war to have Chekov as Uhura’s Maid of Honor or Sulu’s Best Man, a race to find Chekov appropriate attire to fill both roles, and a serenade by Uhura that made Sulu propose to her a second time.

“Doctor McCoy threatened to projectile vomit through the comm screen if he 'had to watch this song and dance a second time', at which time, he cut the video feed, despite the Captain’s protest,” Chekov ends with a sigh. “It was a very beautiful ceremony. I only wish you remembered it.”

Uhura nods and takes the time to process. Sulu stands stock still, mouth slightly open, and Uhura thinks that maybe he isn’t as put together about this as he seemed.

“Ach, there you are!” Scotty shouts as he stomps down the hall towards them. “Been searchin’ high and low for the two of ya all bloody night! The next time you get a quicky marriage in Vegas, make sure to inform your guests which of the quicky chapels it is. M’Benga and I had to fight off an Andorian with naught but a box of matches and a phone book.” He shoves a half wrapped package into Sulu’s hands (“for your honeymoon!") and pats them both on the cheek before heading down the hall to Engineering without explaining anything.

  
\---

  
They spend a week touring and surfing in Chile before Sulu says it.

“Not that I’m not loving this, but-”

“Let’s ditch this planet,” Uhura replies quickly. She has her towel folded and her tomes back in her tote in the time it takes for him to stare at her dully.

“What?” she says to his gaping look. “I don’t know if you know this, Mister, but we’re Starfleet. If we wanted to be dirtside, we wouldn’t be stationed aboard the Enterprise. Now c’mon. There’s a ship headed for Cait that starts boarding in 30 minutes.”

“Will you marry me?”

She laughs brightly and tugs him to his feet.

“It's a little too late for that.”

  
\---

  
“Get your hands off of my wife!” Sulu yells over the sounds of the crowded bar as he punches the offending Cardassian solidly in the face.

Which is, essentially, the story of how they ended up being sold to Orion slavers.

The slavers ship is grimy, the floors slick with sick and refuse, the air thick with indescribable scents.

It was not a place for them to die.

Through whispered conversations, Sulu and Uhura come to the conclusion that freeing the Orion woman is their best bet. She's chained so as to be immobile, face covered in a thick mask and arms bound crossed on her chest.

If they can just get her mask off...

When they free themselves and are fully in control of the ship, they have the time to assess. Their fellow (now freed) prisoners are in rough shape. A good meal and some therapy will go a long way to help those hurts. Uhura's hair is matted with what may or may not be blood and Sulu’s shoulder is dislocated, but it’s nothing that a bottle of vodka, a box of bandages, and a well-deserved trip to a hairstylist can’t fix.

“I think we out honeymooned the Captain.” Sulu chirps as he pilots them seamlessly to the nearest Starbase. This isn’t the first time that Uhura is glad that she married him, however unwittingly.

“Don't let him hear you say that. He might insist on renewing their vows,” she warns, voice warm and full of fondness.

They give most of the money they make to the newly freed people and use the rest to buy tickets to their next destination that Uhura picks by closing her eyes and pointing at a star map. They make sure to comm Chekov every so often so he can complain about their replacements on the bridge and feed him tidbits about their adventures in return. 

It isn't so different from being aboard the Enterprise.

  
\---

  
“You’re… where?” Chekov's face buffers and fizzles with the bad connection, but the confusion is clear as anything in his voice.

“Antede III,” Uhura answers dutifully.

“And it’s monsoon season,” Sulu tacks on cheerfully.

What he doesn't say is that the monsoons here are violently fuschia and can carry you several kilometers away if you're not careful.

They're both more than a little afraid of what the Captain would do with this knowledge.

“I-” the bewildered face of Chekov slowly buffers into that of Captain Kirk.

He hikes up his Captainly Eyebrow and does his best to look disapproving. “Mind telling me how two of my senior officers ended up half a quadrant away from where they’re supposed to be?”

Uhura and Sulu share a look.

“Did you really expect anything different, sir?” Sulu drawls.

Kirk laughs, loud and bright. “I see now that I shouldn't've. Sit tight and we'll be there quick as we can."

"We will reach Antede III in approximately 10 days and 4 hours if traveling at warp 6, sir," Chekov volunteers. 

Kirk looks at the camera, searching their faces. 

"I trust the two of you will be there when we arrive?" 

They look at each other again, thinking about the excursion they have planned for the next day to the dark side of Antede II's third moon.

"Absolutely sir," Uhura answers because she doesn't trust Sulu to not mess this up for them.

Kirk squints at them- a little _too_ knowingly- before giving them a short nod and cutting the feed.

\---

“Babe, we have to break up,” Sulu tells her 3 (intoxicating dangerous _wonderful_ ) years later. He says this as soon as he's through the door to their shared quarters, dropping his shopping and staring at her with a particular look of longing.

“We’ve had a good run,” she agrees readily. She sets aside her book and gestures for him to join her on their couch.

He sighs and lays his head on her lap. “His name is Ben.”

She combs a hand through his hair, gently scratching his scalp, waiting for him to continue.

“ We met yesterday at his shop, and I didn't think much of it. But then we ran into each other at this bookstore when I was looking for that book on translating Klingon opera that you've been looking for, and we got to talking. He’s so kind and funny and has the sweetest daughter.” He tries to hide the pink flooding his cheeks with his hands.

She waits long minutes before making an inquiring noise and touches his cheekbone.

"... What if I'm not good enough for him?"

She gives him a Look and that makes him scramble to sit up.

"I mean it! He's settled here, Ny. His daughter is running for class president. His family operates the largest greenhouse in the region. I mean, they have a shiba for crying out loud. They don't need a Starfleet brat dropping in and out of their lives."

"Even with all of that, can you still picture a future with him?" 

Sulu groans, knowing that she's like a shark that's scented blood when she's onto something.

“It's not that easy," Sulu says measuredly. He's more than a little frustrated with the mess he's gotten them in, but they've been together too long, been what they have been to each other too long, for him to disregard her and break down like he wants to.

Even though it would be easy.

He knows she would let him wallow if that's what he really wanted.

"I don't want to have to choose between them and this."

She knows that he says this he means Starfleet, piloting, the thrill counterbalanced by the heartache, flying them into and out of danger on a regular basis, meeting new lifeforms, submitting reports that get either redacted or disbelieved. She is not hurt to not be considered.

They will always have what they have even when there is no documentation tying them to each other.

“I think… that love always deserves a chance.  Even when it’s not easy. _Especially_ when it’s not easy.”

“Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with you?”

It would have been like breathing, falling in love with Uhura. Her steadfast determination and her boundless strength made her the greatest and best person he knew. 

“Because that would have been too easy. Now come here," she gestures and he helps her up from the couch, drawing herself to her full height before pulling him into a gentle hug.

Before she can push him all the way out of the room, he stops her with a hand on her arm.

“I love you.”

She smiles, warmer than the Vulcan sun. “I know. Go see about getting your happily ever after."

**Author's Note:**

> epilogue: demora and her favourite sentient plant are the flower girls. mccoy cries and absolutely no tribbles are shot. it doesn't take too long for kirk to circumvent the rules and bring ben (and demora) along as an exobotany civilian consultant. uhura is demora's favourite space aunt, spock her favourite space uncle (much to kirk's dismay). uhura meets someone (im leaning towards t'pring, christine, or rand, or even a combination thereof, but its up to your imagination) and they grow old and graceful togeher and have tons of space adventures and no one dies! the uhuras and sulus grow alongside each other and they all live happily ever after.
> 
> theoretically, i know how time works. for the sake of storytelling and fun times, let’s assume that it is actually feasible for Uhura and Sulu to travel hundreds or thousands of lightyears in the span of a month. 
> 
> title from the nina simone sing


End file.
